“What does that entail?” It’s not like we haven’t kissed or tangled in the sheets. And Dmitri isn’t bad on the eyes. Pretending to be his girlfriend isn’t the worst request.
“Two dinners and a wedding.”
“What?” I squeak, my voice higher than I intend. “Three dates? I’m not that good of an actress.” Maybe I could pull off one date or a wedding where his friends aren’t paying that close attention to us, but on three separate occasions?
Is he trying to torture me?
“My friends want to meet you,” Dmitri says.
“They can’t meet me at the wedding?”
“There’s also the rehearsal dinner the night before the big day. Come on. I’m helping you with Allie.”
“We’re supposed to be breaking up.” Did he forget the plan?
“And we will after the wedding. We’ll go our separate ways. No big deal.” He takes a swig of his coffee. “What do you say?”
He pins me with his stare. “I helped you with Allie,” he reminds me.
That was one night. This is three separate occasions. “Fine.” I groan and snatch one of his sausage links from his plate. “If we’re pretending to date, I can steal food off your plate.”
A wicked smile crosses Dmitri’s features. “You can have anything of mine you want, sausage included.”
I snort at his remark, and I’m confident I’m blushing.
“Anything? I’m going to hold you to that,” I quip.
EIGHT
Dmitri
“Really? You have a girlfriend?” Luka isn’t convinced I’m seeing a girl, and we’re serious.
Why should he be? It’s not like he’s ever seen me spend time with a girl outside a bar. And he’s right. Sadie isn’t like the other girls I’ve slept with. She’s different.
For starters, what we have isn’t real. The sex, on the other hand, that’s dynamite.
“Her name is Sadie,” I say as if that’ll suddenly make him believe me.
“And you’re bringing her to the wedding?” His eyes narrow, unconvinced. “Is she your sister or something?”
“She’s my girlfriend,” I reiterate. “The things we’ve done would be illegal if she were my sister.”
Luka chuckles under his breath and folds his arms across his chest. “Fine, but I don’t believe you until I meet her. This girl could be a figment of your imagination. You do have a nice scar,” he says, gesturing to the mark on my forehead.
“How about dinner Monday night?” I suggest. Mikhail has made it abundantly clear that I’m to tout my fake girlfriend around before the wedding.
And the truth is that I don’t mind taking Sadie out, wining and dining the girl. I’d prefer it not to be in the company of the bratva, but I can’t undo that mistake. Mikhail knows about her and wants to use the two of us to preserve his self-image.
Typical Pakhan. Only worried about his reputation.
“Monday, we can do it,” Luka says. “Although I should warn you, Hannah is in her wedding planning phase. Right now, that’s all she seems to talk about.”
“Are you warning me that she might put ideas into Sadie’s head?”
It’s good that we’re not serious, and this relationship is fake.
“Yeah, I swear that’s all Hannah discusses with Madisyn.”